'My car has been written off after rodents chewed through the wires'

A woman's car has been written off after rats chewed through wiring inside her vehicle. Sophie Rees lives in Tudno Place, Penlan, where she says there has been a rodent problem for years. The 31-year-old mum explained how there were nests of rats burrowing under gardens in the Swansea suburb, which means she is unable to let her kids play outside safely.

The four-legged creatures could be seen running around in the area during the daytime, she said, adding that it had now reached a stage where damage was being caused to cars in the area. Miss Rees said the wire damage had been caused within the last six months, which caused her power steering to stop working and her car to misfire. Droppings and bones have also been left behind.

It is not just her vehicle which has been affected. Her neighbour’s car tyres have also been damaged, whilst another neighbour has chosen to park away from the estate completely after experiencing a similar issue. Miss Rees said the issue began in 2018, claiming it escalated after Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Tirdeunaw was built, as ground in the area was disturbed. She said rubbish being left around the area by tenants also contributed to the problem. For the latest Welsh news delivered to your inbox sign up to our newsletter.

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Miss Rees said: “They’ve written my car off. I did report it to pest control a few years ago. It has been a problem since 2018, but the Welsh school (Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Tirdeunaw), when they started doing that there were more rats around, because, obviously, they had disturbed the nest. They have been burrowing under not just my gardens but other gardens in the estate. There's nests in the gardens.

“For the past six months or so, they’ve been going in my car, in the engine and have chewed wires. The first wire they chewed was an easy, but expensive fix. The second time they chewed wires, it was still a fix, but expensive. This third time now, they have chewed through a wire to my power steering, and another one caused the car to misfire, and a couple more - one is going into the battery, and a few more that we can’t see. I’ve had to claim off my insurance to try and get a new car for work.

“The first two repairs cost me about £150 - £200. This third repair, all I know so far, is it’s going to be £400 excess. That’s without even looking at the car. I still have to go out and replace my car, for which you’re talking about £1,000 minimum. I also care for my mum, and she lives in Clydach and I live in Penlan, so it’s a hell of a difference.

“It’s mentally draining. This week now, I can’t even take my kids to school. Usually, I don’t just take my kids, I take others for family and friends as well. But I can’t even do that now. The kids can’t play outside in the garden because of the rats. There was one day in the summer I let my dogs out the back for their last pee of the night, and there was a rat jumping over them.

“We see them running around during the days. It’s not just the school being built, it’s rubbish in the area which doesn’t help. My neighbour, who I’m close to, her car has been had by rats too - they’ve had her tyres. One of her neighbours has to park her car outside of the estate because the rats have been at her car as well.

“It’s stressful, mentally breaking. It gets to a point where I think why do I even bother. Last Tuesday, the kids went back to school. I started the car and saw there was no power steering. I turned it off, started it again, but it was still gone. My brother looked at it on the Saturday, but it had begun misfiring. He said it had gone, you can’t fix it, and if you can fix it you’re talking thousands."

A Swansea Council spokesman said: "Our pest control team provides a free service and we encourage residents to report rats so we can deal with them as quickly as possible. In terms of rat problems being reported at this location, a number of properties in the area are currently undergoing treatment for rat infestations and we will continue to monitor these locations in an effort to reduce rodent activity.

"Rats and other rodents are primarily attracted to areas around people’s homes by sources of food, such as household waste, litter and food waste. Residents can play their part in minimising the presence of rats in their communities. Our waste and recycling team regularly appeal to residents in the area to use rat-proof food waste caddies which we provide them with for their food waste. It is also important to put household waste and recycling out on the correct collection days." Join our WhatsApp news community here for the latest breaking news.